It lasted all of 20 minutes and culminated in the formation of a subcommittee that will meet in private as it analyzes potential recommendations for possible state intervention.

The meeting, held in a conference room at the Cadillac Place on West Grand Boulevard, was the first since an Ingham County judge ruled that the team violated the Michigan Open Meetings Act by holding previous meetings in private.

Fred Headen, a review team member and director of the state treasury department's local government services bureau, began the meeting by telling the public what most everyone already knows: Detroit is in the midst of a financial crisis.

The city's cumulative general fund deficit increased from $91 million in fiscal year 2010 to $148.1 million by the end of fiscal year 2011, Headen said, and city budgets routinely overestimated revenues in recent years.

From there, state Treasurer Andy Dillon opened the floor to public comment and was forced to defend the decision to hold previous meetings in private.

"These meetings are informational and about information gathering," he told one resident, noting that state review teams met in private long before Snyder signed Public Act 4 into law last year.

"There's no deliberation and no decisions are made (at these meetings). It's really an opportunity to receive input and information from various members that either work for or work with the City of Detroit."

Dillon then proposed formation of a five-member advisory subcommittee that will meet in private and analyze potential options the full body can recommend to the governor, including appointment of an emergency manager or negotiation of consent agreement with city leaders.

Dillon said that "case law" shows the Michigan Open Meetings Act allows the formation of such committees tasked with specific functions. But Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who filed the original lawsuit forcing the review team to meet in public, said he plans to challenge the move.

"It seems as if we're headed down a very litigious path," Davis told reporters after the meeting. "The fact of the matter is that for them to try to establish a subcommittee so they can meet in private is absolutely absurd and a slap in the face to every single Detroiter."

The subcommittee, which Dillon said will work long hours as many as seven days a week, is expected to complete its analysis by March 14.

The full review team has until March 28 to provide the governor with a recommendation, but it is expected to hold a second public meeting before doing so.